I may be the wrong guy to talk about API gear. Why? Because I've been using 500 modules almost my whole 24 year career as a rock-oriented engineer. I might as well have API 2520 op amps in my ear canals. The 512 mic-pre has always been my "Desert Island" pre. It manages to sound musical on practically any source. (There aren't too many pres you can say that about, with the possible exception of the Great River ME-1NV, the only newly-designed pre that has really impressed me as being as versatile and sonically appealing as the 512). My love affair with 500 mic amps and equalizers began in 1986, when I started working out of a million-dollar studio which had, among many racks of great gear, an API 500 series ten space rack housing a pair of 512B mic-pres and a few 550B 4-band discrete EQ modules. The studio also had Hardy and Demeter outboard pres, but the APIs became my go-to guys for just about everything. The 512 has roundness, forwardness and dimensionality. Along with the supple midrange, the 512 imparts a high-end character which I'd describe as glassy, even subtly airy, but never harsh. And the punch! Being a faster pre than most, I discovered that tracking drums was a real forte of API. To this day I still lean on the 312 or 512 pre for kick, snare, and overheads. I very quickly gained affection for those 550B EQs too, using them on everything from drums to vocals to mix buss. Just a 2db boost at 20K on the vocal immediately gave me that present, sparkly vocal sound that I noticed on major label records (and I do mean RECORDS). On basics, I used the 550B EQ on overheads, with a dip at 3K, another at 1K, and a shelf cut at 200 Hz. Then, solely for analog tape compensation, I did a one-click boost at 15K. You lose a little high end when hitting tape, of course, and then with hundreds of passes during overdubs and mix, you lose more. People always complimented me on my overhead sound back then. My entire chain consisted of a pair of AKG C414EB, the API 512B (or Hardy/Jensen Twin Servo), the 550B, and a stereo compressor. And lest we forget guitars! My close-mic'd guitar rig was typically a 2 X 12 guitar cabinet with a Beyer M500 on each cone (about 2" back) running in to a pair of API 512B's. The creamy midrange, smooth high end and fast dynamics always had people asking me, "Dude, how did you get that guitar sound?" Across the street from the studio I speak of was a BIG rock radio station. In there lived a classic API production desk. It was old and black and had round fader caps, and most of the lights were burnt out, but I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. In the meter bridge there were module slots, which I quickly realized were 500-type slots just like we had across the street. But the radio desk didn't contain 512s or 550Bs. It had 560 graphic EQs! Four of 'em! I wish I had a couple of those vintage graphics, but they are harder to find than a hamburger at a Hare Krishna convention. The API 560 ten-band graphic EQ is a great sounding 500 series device. A lot of people love them on kick and snare. I have certainly used them for those tracks, but again, guitars are my thing with the 560. I can really shape a clean or overdriven electric guitar sound. The 500 Hz and 1K mids can be tucked in a little, and a boost at 4K and/or 8K can provide nice bite and sizzle. Mostly, I find that the circuit just sounds good, even when you're not doing much with the EQ sliders. Run a signal through there and just hit the "in" button and you get instant, um, something. I guess I'd describe it as presence or bigness or chunk. Whatever it is, Daddy likey! So, fast forward twenty years to the present day and a lot has changed. The big studios have faded from the scene, and monster consoles and tape machines have given way to compact DAWs. Computers perform audio-production tasks that were unimaginable even ten years ago, much less 20. We're in a digital world where small project studios dot the recording landscape. I have a home studio myself, and in that home studio, there's an API Lunchbox with pairs of 512Cs, 550Bs and 560s. Nary a track goes by that doesn't stop for lunch in that little magic box. I guess some things never change. -Drew Townson

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